Gionee, the Chinese manufacturer is gaining momentum in India with new additions to its smart phones list. Gionee Elife S5.5 was released last month in China with the title, 'World's thinnest smart phone', with thickness measuring upto just 5.5 mm. The latest addition to Elife series of Gionee, Elife S5.5 has been launched in India on March 31, 2014 at a price tag of Rs.22,999. It will officially hit Indian markets on April 27th.

Build and Design
The Gionee Elife S5.5, makes it clear from the name itself that the thin physical dimension is the most attractive part of the design. But the tapered edges actually helps in providing very good grip despite the slim form factor. The front and back glass covering, Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display and Corning Gorilla Glass, along with the thin aluminium metal chassis gives the look and feel of a premium device. It will be available in five color variants – White, Black, Blue, Pink and Purple.

The Elife S5.5 weighs 130 grams, which is little less than Nexus 4 at 140 grams. The volume and power keys are placed on the left panel (unlike most other smart phones in this range) making it possible to control the device with just one hand. The right panel of the Elife S5.5 features the rubber-covered SIM-card slot near the top, while the 3.5 mm jack is placed on top and USB charging port at the bottom. Overall, the device leaves a good impression over its build quality and design.

Display
Gionee Elife S5.5 features a 5.5 inch Full-HD display. It features a Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, with 1080 x 1920 pixels resolution and a pixel density of 441 ppi. It looks pretty good for a device in this price range. The rich colors, high resolution and very good viewing angles will make it possible to read text even under sunlight.

Operating System
It runs on Android OS, v4.2 (Jelly Bean), which pulls down the impression gained so far a bit down. For a smart phone of this range, it could have been updated to the latest version of Android (Kitkat v4.4). There is no confirmation from the sources as yet whether the device will be upgraded to the Kitkat version in near future.

Processor and Performance
The downfall in terms of OS is taken care in Processor it seems. Elife S5.5 is powered by a 1.7 GHz Octa-core processor, clearly enabling it to perform better than other devices in this range. Further, it has been backed up by 2 GB RAM, which makes it superior in terms of performance. Overall the device looks stunning in the speed and performance area.

Storage
Even though the internal memory gives you a big 16 GB storage, the depressing fact here is that there wont be any additional storage possible. Elife S5.5 doesnt come with an expandable memory. Lack of micro SD card slot may draw out potential buyers despite all other jaw-dropping features.

Camera
Before discussing the camera features, what made us awestruck was the sheer designing skills which incorporated 2 cameras in such a thin device. But it is true. Elife S5.5 comes with a 13 MP rear camera with LED Flash and a 5 MP front camera for video calling purpose. Even though 13 MP rear cam sounds superior, the picture quality is yet to be proven, as other Elife devices so far were not that great in picture quality.

Battery
The device comes with a massive 2300 mAh Lithium-Ion battery. Battery life if proved high will give it an upper hand among other competitors like Micromax Canvas Knight A350 which also feature an Octa-core Processor.

Price
Gionee has approached the smartphone with a competitive pricing, but not so cheap. The Gionee Elife S5.5 has been launched at a price tag of Rs. 22,999 but like most of their handsets, the phone should be available for lesser price once it hits the store shelves. But as of now, Rs.23K seems a bit high. Lets hope that price will come down.

Verdict
If you're looking for a smartphone with good performance, speed and looks, the Gionee Elife S5.5 might be worth a buy. But I would have advised you to buy it right away, had it come with a lesser price and more storage.

Pros
Premium Looks
Better Processor
2 GB RAM

Cons
No MicroSD card slot
Not reasonable pricing

Written by Remya Sebastian.
Last updated on 01-04-2014. Published on 01-04-2014.
Published by Mobiles4Sale.in in category Reviews

Rate this Review :

3.7/5 (7 votes)

Latest Comments

The phone is so nice, i love to have it.

By Antonio Marino on 14-04-2014

nice looking phone

By Jackie Chan on 05-05-2014

I want this mbl

By Sudheer on 09-05-2014

This mobile is so nice. Nice looking

By Arun on 16-05-2014

cute mobile. willing to have it

By Jitendra on 22-05-2014

does company offers this mbl to update the latest android kitkat version if yes im going to buy ..thnk it d'nt support kitkat

By Pradeep Chowdary on 23-05-2014

Gionee Elife S5.5 is one of the best designed smartphone but it would be more impressive if had OS Android (kitkat v4.4) and a expandable memory slot then this would be the most selling and most desired smartphone.